vonDrehle wrote:If the things Leviticus said is only to be applied to Israel at the time period then why are parts of it still apart of the Church now. Why do so many people fall back on the "It's what the bible says" argument for issues such as gays and lesbians?

I feel the main problem when Christians and Atheist try and discus things is Christians always end up quoting things from the bible. From the Atheist view that is like trying to have a discussion about say gay marriage and one person keeps taking quotes from Lord of the Rings. Not meaning offense by saying that but to an Atheist it is just literature.

vonDrehle wrote:IWhy do so many people fall back on the "It's what the bible says" argument for issues such as gays and lesbians?

those are the most fun discussions because they can be framed to focus on all of the wacky shit the bible says a follower is supposed to do but dont (like healing people with zombie jesus magic). then the contradictiary nature and absurdity of the whole damned book is illuminated.

What you can and cant do through Jesus is all based off faith. Whether anyone has strong enough faith today to perform such miracles is another topic.

the telephone game is an ok analogy but misses important aspects of interpreting historical documents. the translations of historical documents takes place in different historical and cultural contexts, outside of the language being used. if the translator is unaware of the differences in historical and cultural context they are going to make errors by interpreting the document in their cultural context. translating sodomite to homosexuality is iffy at best. straight people can qualify as sodomites. the history of human sexuality has shown vast difference in how different sexual behavior is defined and understood based on the constructions of gender, sex, and sexuality used.

vonDrehle wrote:So essentially the Bible is one giant telephone game that goes across several languages?

That, along with several meetings held between church leaders to figure out what they want included and what they want taken out.

Certainly seems like a strange thing to do to the word of God. I've always wondered how the bible can have several people that actually spoke to God in one way or another yet if someone were to say that today they are generally considered crazy.